Books that built me in the last 20 years
When you have more time on your hands after curbing your social media habits, you find yourself revisiting your Goodreads book list from the past 20 years, handwriting it by category in a journal. It's fascinating how the books I’ve read tell a slice of my personal biography.
For context, over these two decades, my life’s landscape was defined by the throes of motherhood (my kids are now 27, 23, and 17, so less of a throe these days), climbing the career ladder from mid-career to becoming an executive in corporate America, battling a major health crisis, and starting my own business.
Meanwhile, the global landscape I experienced spanned events like George W. Bush in office, the subsequent War on Terror, activism against the war, rise of social media, the global recession of 2008, the rise of the Tea Party Movement (seeding of MAGA), Obama's first and second elections, MeToo movement, 2016 election, BLM and the pandemic.
I always like to note the backdrop of my own small world and the bigger world whenever I reflect because these landscapes shape what I seek to escape. Books were my sanctuary during these moments, helping me emerge more whole.
When I close a book and return to reality, something about the world I step back into feels a little different.
Sometimes, I return with more patience with the world and myself.
Other times, I come back with reverence or insights that influence my work, parenting, or well-being. Books have always been a gateway for me to know myself.
My reading over the last 20 years has fallen into distinct categories: contemplative, philosophy, African-American literature, African/diaspora literature, health and wellness, poetry, and what I prefer to call "old books" (others might call them "classic literature").
These books have built me, broadened my perspectives, provided clarity during storms, made me a more confident leader, mother, friend, and partner, a more sophisticated conversationalist and thinker.
They have spurred me to take action in various areas of my life and helped me be more visible to myself. I truly believe books become a part of your identity.
I've read over 350 books and will not be listing them all here. However, I wanted to share a few from each category that have been instrumental for me.
Contemplative - I am moved by contemplative texts. I come from a family history of Christianity but I’ve always been interested in expanding beyond traditional institutionalized religious thought.
I feel most connected to God and the Holy Spirit through writers who speak to the inner landscape of the soul and about nature.
I am drawn to contemplative thinkers such as ex-Catholic Priest and Irish Poet John O’Donohue who poetically explores the sacred and nature and 1990s Essence Magazine Editor Susan L. Taylor whose writings beautifully weave spiritual reflection with personal transformation.
Both approaches have helped me move beyond dogma into a more expansive understanding of spirituality.
A few contemplative books that encouraged my spirit in the last 20 years:
Philosophy - I often read philosophy books in the winter months. Winter’s gray landscape sometimes mirrors my inner landscape: uncertain, dimmed, blue.
My mood is unpredictable during winter, especially during February which always feels disorienting and liminal. Reading philosophy books ground me. These books have felt like a flashlight in past dark winters offering clarity:
African American Literary - I spent most of my youth in the late 80s and 90s reading Babysitter Club books, VC Andrews, Judy Blume, Danielle Steele and during college, James Patterson and Nora Ephron. It wasn’t until my mid-20s, in the early 2000s that I committed to African American/African/Diaspora literary canon.
This coincided with the cultural shift in Black communities in the early 2000s where we were denouncing traditional beauty standards, embracing natural hair, initiating what was the original “woke’ movement - an innocent call to “wake” up from not appreciating our beauty, art, history, books, stories, resilience and strength, not the diluted, weaponized term its become today.
Books that helped me expand my understanding of the depth and breadth of Black narratives:
African/Immigrant/Diaspora Literary - I am a child of African immigrants to the US, so I’ve looked to books at times to help examine and interpret my experience straddling multiple cultures and traditions. These books have strengthened my multiple identities.
Old Books - Over the last five years, I grew fed up with contemporary books on the NYT Bestseller list. Too often, they left me disappointed—only a few felt worth the read. So, I shifted my focus to what I call “old books,” though others might label them “classics” (a term I avoid for reasons I won’t delve into). I’ve found myself enjoying them in ways contemporary reads often fail to match.
Health and Wellness - In 2009, I read a book about factory farming and immediately gave up eating land animals. Since then, I’ve been a pescatarian/vegetarian. Wellness and daily physical movement are core values of mine, which naturally draws me to books on wellbeing. These books have been foundational in shaping my perspective on health and wellness.
Poetry - I often begin my day with a poem or end the evening by reading one. Poetry feels like a five-minute meditation - a brief, reflective pause. Over the years, I’ve dog-eared countless pages in these books:
Looking back at the literature that has shaped my reading life in the last few decades, I am reminded that each book, not chosen by trend and sometimes the book actually chose me has served a distinct purpose. Together, these books have been anchors and architects in my own personal biography.
Thanks for coming along on this memory lane. I hope one of these books finds its way to you.